Lionel Messi has warned Barcelona that they ‘must improve in many areas’ after their 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

Messi started the match as a substitute and assisted Munir El Haddadi for Barca’s equaliser, but the Catalans nonetheless slumped to their third game without a win.

“We have the squad and players to not depend on anyone and to win any game,” the No 10 told GolTV.

“Our recent results have been disappointing, but we have to be calm and remember that the season is very long.

“We kept trying and I think we had plenty of chances. I think we could’ve won, but we must keep going and look forward to Wednesday, when we have a very tough game. It’s a big game for how the group will pan out.

“We must improve in many areas. We have to become stronger defensively. We can’t concede so many goals every match, given we come from a season when it was very difficult to score against us.”